Episode 33 Green Balloon Club

# Gather round, one and all

# You gotta answer the call

# Listen up, look around you

# There's a magical world to explore

# There's a nature adventure

# Coming your way soon

# So come and join us

# In this Green Balloon

# And when we fly We're higher than the moon

# So join us

# Ah, ah

# In our Green Balloon. #

What can you see, Skipper? SKIPPER WHINES

I think it's some kind of bird.

What kind of bird is it?

Oh, hello! Look, Cat, they're here.

Oh, hello! Come on in and let's get started.

Come on, Skipper.

ALL: HELLO!

-Welcome to the Green Balloon Club.

-It may be February and it may be cold,

but we've definitely spotted signs of spring on its way.

It's lighter in the mornings when we walk Skipper.

And I spotted some snowdrops and I got a green star.

Oh, well done, Lily-Rose!

Yes, the snowdrop was a Spot a few weeks ago.

Did you spot some too?

I've been looking for bugs, but I haven't seen many.

They're probably still hibernating.

But I've definitely seen some bird activity in my garden. In fact,

-two robins have used my bird feeder.

-Oh! Don't robins like to be alone?

Usually, but if two are together,

it's often because they're preparing a nest for a family.

-Oh, that's definitely a sign of spring.

-Yes, that's right.

-Should we do the register?

-Yes, yes, definitely. You do it, Ant.

First up, Lily-Rose?

BOING! I'm here!

Are you feeling bouncy today, Lily-Rose?

No, that wasn't a bounce,

that was a spring! BOING!

Spring is another word for jump.

-I'm feeling springy cos spring is nearly here.

-That's good.

Who else is here?

-Are you feeling springy too, Ant?

-Oh, why not?

-BOING!

-I'm here, and I'm feeling springy.

Now it's you, Cat.

BOING! I'm here!

Cat's here. What about you, Skipper?

Skipper's feeling springy too. BOING!

Good girl!

Skipper's here.

Now it's you, Jay.

-I'm definitely feeling springy.

-BOING!

-BOING! BOING!

-I'm here!

Jay's here and feeling springy.

Now it's you, Sky.

Oh, well, I think I'm here.

-And I'm feeling springy!

-BOING!

-Not as springy as me!

-Oh, I think I'm springier.

BOING! BOING! BOING! BOING!

And what about you? Are you feeling springy?

Join in with us.

BOING!

ALL: I'm here!

And that's everyone present and correct.

Let's do the Green Balloon Club chant!

ALL: Yay!

DRUMBEAT

ALL: We love animals, plants and birds.

We love snails and slugs.

Large and small, we love them all and we never, ever step on bugs

Cos we are the Green Balloon Club!

Sky, I've got another sign for spring. Come and have a look.

-Wow! What's this, Lily-Rose?

-It's a hyacinth.

I got it for Christmas. At first, it didn't do anything,

but look under here.

That looks like some roots in there.

Yes, that's what they are. The roots go down and the shoots are coming up.

-That's fantastic, isn't it?

-I think it will grow into a big, blue flower.

I'll bring it in when it grows some more.

I've brought something special too. It's another sign of spring.

-It looks like some sort of box to me.

-That's right. It's a bird box -

-a special house for the birds.

-But I thought bird boxes looked like that,

with a little round hole.

Usually, yes. But this is a special box for the robins.

Robins don't like to be closed in, so they choose open fronts.

-But how do you get them to go in there?

-Well, you can't make them.

But now's the time to put up a bird box

because birds are looking for places to build their nests now.

-So you just put it up and hope they come and live in there?

-Yes.

Or perhaps some other birds will come and live in it.

There's a report coming in.

Hello! Hello! Hello! Down here!

It's Molly. Hello!

Hello. This is my garden,

and it's the time of year

when birds think about pairing up and having a family.

First, they need to find somewhere to nest, and we can help them do that.

Different birds like living in different nest boxes,

so we have two types to put up.

One box has a small hole, and the other has an open front.

This box is for small birds called wrens.

And robins like to nest in open-front boxes like this one.

Maybe they like to be able to see everything.

We're putting the bird boxes up and my dad's helping us, cos he's tall.

Molly, maybe we should put it here.

No, it has to be off the ground, away from animals like cats and squirrels.

They get inside the boxes and steal the eggs.

OK, Molly, how about up here, like that?

No, it has to keep the rain out and be facing away from direct sunlight.

How about up here?

Do you think it's a good place?

Yes, it is, cos it's out of the sun and rain

and away from cats and squirrels.

Robins like to nest with plants all around them, so we'll put it here.

Make sure you don't put nest boxes close to each other.

Different birds like to live in different places,

and robins prefer to live on their own.

To help the birds make their nest, I'm going to put this nest helper up.

It's full of natural material and the birds use bits for their nests.

Robins like to use twigs, dry grass and moss for their nests,

so we're going to find some and put them near the box for them to use.

Wrens like to line their nests with feathers, so if we find any,

we'll add them to the nest helper.

If you have pets, you could use their fur as well.

If I was a bird, I'd love to have rabbit fur in my nest.

We can't wait for some birds to move in.

Hopefully, we can watch them have a family.

Maybe you can put some boxes up in your garden. Bye!

Bye!

That was great! Thanks, Molly.

See? Everyone's getting into bird boxes at this time of year.

Is there somewhere that you could put up a bird box?

Jay! Which sort of bird goes in this sort of box?

Lots of birds like this kind of box.

Any of these ones?

If you're lucky, you might get a sparrow,

but they're not very common where I live.

You're much more likely to see a blue tit, like this one.

Blue tits are very cheeky little birds.

If you have a bird feeder, you'll probably see one on it.

Just look at this colourful little acrobat feeding on the bird feeder.

But who is it?

I'm a blue tit.

I have beautiful blue, green and yellow feathers

and a cheeky stripy face.

Although I'm small, I can see off other birds that try and push in.

I'm so light that I can feed from the thinnest of branches

where other birds can't reach.

It's spring.

I'm busy collecting moss and lots of soft bedding to line my nest.

At this time of year, I lay as many as 16 eggs

that hatch into blue tit hatchlings.

Look how tiny my hatchlings are. Luckily, I have help from their dad,

who collects lots of juicy caterpillars to eat.

We time the arrival of our chicks

when there are the most caterpillars around.

That doesn't fool me!

At two weeks old, our chicks are fully feathered,

with wide yellow beaks.

Whilst the chicks are in the nest, we have to be careful,

since there are lots of animals that would eat our chicks.

We have to be on high alert with cats...

squirrels and woodpeckers around.

Uh-oh!

False alarm - it's a field mouse.

All clear.

At three weeks old, our chicks are ready to leave the nest box.

Look how I try to tempt them out with a tasty morsel of food.

There - all the chicks have flown

from the nest.

Both their dad and I spend a couple of weeks or so feeding the chicks

and looking after them. But it's not long before all our baby blue tits

fend for themselves.

You can attract blue tits just like me

into the garden, or by your window, by putting out a bird feeder.

We're often the first birds on the bird feeders,

so look out for us colourful little acrobats.

Lily-Rose, what are you doing?

Me and Skipper are trying to see if we can see my hyacinth growing.

Let's see.

Hmm! It's not doing anything.

It must be, because at first there weren't any roots, neither shoots

but now there are roots AND shoots so it MUST be growing!

Well, very, very slowly.

Yes. And me and Skipper will try and see if we could SEE it growing.

-And could you?

-No.

But Skipper could.

She's SO clever.

-Yes, she is, isn't she?

-SKY CLEARS THROAT >

Guys, would you mind if I interrupt with playing a game?

BOTH: Yes, please! What is it?

It's a game about animals' homes. You match the animal to the home.

Do you think you can do it?

-BOTH: Yes.

-OK. First,

I'm going to put some animals here. That's a squirrel.

-ALL:

-Badger.

-Who's this?

-BOTH: Skipper.

SKIPPER WHINES BOTH: Bee.

-BOTH: Kingfisher!

-Lovely.

Right, so I'm going to put some homes over here.

OK, which animal is this?

-Badger.

-OK. And where do you think the badger lives?

-There.

-In there? OK, put those two together.

Right, now, how about...

-this animal here?

-BOTH: A bee.

-Where do you think the bee lives?

-BOTH: The beehive.

-OK, we'll put those together. And next up...

-this animal.

-A squirrel.

-Where do you think it lives?

-In the nest.

-In this nest over here?

-It's kind of a nest. It's called a drey.

-A drey.

-Yes.

We'll put those together.

And, then, what about Skipper?

-BOTH: The kennel.

-The kennel?

That's a really good guess. We'll put that together.

And what about this animal?

-A kingfisher.

-It is.

-And where do you think the kingfisher lives?

-There!

-OK.

-What do you think this is?

-A burrow.

-Do you think this is a burrow.

-No, a sett!

-You think it's a sett?

Ok, yes, you're right, this is a sett. So who lives in a sett?

BOTH: A badger!

So you got that one wrong. We'll put the badger over here in the sett.

So we're left here with this over here. What is this?

-A river.

-A river.

-It is a river.

-See this hole?

-Yes.

-It's actually a burrow.

That's funny. I thought rabbits lived in burrows.

That's right. Rabbits do live in burrows

but kingfishers live in tiny burrows, too.

'Report! Special report!'

There's Jelly! What has she got for us today?

Hello there. This is special reporter Jelly

reporting for the Green Balloon Club. And today,

I'll meet up with some of my friends

who've been having lots of fun with wiggly, wriggly worms.

Hee-hee! I'm sorry.

Hee-ha-hu-ha-ha-ha...

I'm sorry, it's just that wiggly, wriggly worms

always makes me want to giggle.

They're so wiggly!

They make me go all giggly!

I can't wait to see them. Mmm!

Mmm... Hello, Sam!

Hello, Jelly.

Oh, you've got some worms

and they're wiggly, wiggly, wiggly worms, aren't they?

What are we going to do with the worms?

-Build a house.

-Build them a house?

That is called a wormery. I don't know how to do that. Do you know?

-Yes.

-Oh, will you show me?

-Yes.

Well, come on then, let's go!

Oh, hello. Hello, Mrs Whitehead. Hello, Cissy.

BOTH: Hello, Jelly.

Now that Sam and I have found some worms, what do we have to do next?

Soil.

We need to put in some soil?

Is that some soil from the garden?

It is. It's from our garden.

Worms like wriggling and wiggling around in the mud, don't they,

under the ground?

And what have you got there, Sam?

-Sand!

-Sand?

It's all soft and dry, isn't it?

I'll put some water in.

Oh, brilliant,

because worms like to stay nice and wet in the mud.

Yes, you do the water.

Sprinkle. Sprinkle.

-Is it time to put them in?

-Yes.

Oh, look! The worms are going in to their new home!

-Shall we put the leaves on?

-Yes.

We need to cover the worms up with leaves

because they like to be in the dark.

Please can I put a wiggly, wiggly worm in the wormery?

Come on, little wormy.

Oh, yes.

Oh, he's making me feel all wiggly and giggly in my tummy!

-Let's put him in the wormery.

-Bye-bye, little wormy!

He looks happy in there, doesn't he?

Oh, look! He's pretending like he's going down in to the ground.

Bye-bye, little worm.

Thank you very much for letting me help you build your wormery.

-Thank you, Jelly. Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye.

-Bye-bye.

-See you.

This was special reporter Jelly reporting for Green Balloon Club.

I've enjoyed helping my friends make their wormery

and I loved holding the wriggly, wiggly worm.

Back to you in the Green Balloon. Up, up and away!

Time for this week's secret picture password

and Skipper's come to help me.

What we've got is a choice between the blue tit and the worm. OK.

So which one would you choose?

We've got the blue tit and the worm.

Which do you think, Skipper? You think it's the worm, do you?

I think it's the blue tit. Let's see who's right.

Oh, well, it IS the worm!

When you go on to our website,

the worm is this week's secret picture password.

Ant, are the worms still OK?

A bit weird because they've been left outside in the cold.

Have they died?

I hope not but that's what I'm trying to find out.

They've been very busy at turning all these vegetables in to compost.

Well, I guess that means they are alive.

Here we are.

Oh, hello, little wormy. I'm so glad to see you.

Perhaps we should keep the wormery inside whilst it's cold.

I think I will. Here's some food for you, little worms.

Bye-bye.

I spy some Green Balloon Club members.

It must be time for the Spot of the Week.

-This week's Spot...

-..is the silver birch tree.

Let's go and find some!

-Here's one. And here's some clues to help you spot one.

-They stand out.

They have silvery-white bark.

The silver birch tree grows quite tall.

Tall or short.

On this tree,

the lines go from side to side but on other trees they go up and down.

Look, there's a big silver birch tree.

In the sun it can turn silver.

The trees grow in all kinds of places.

The silvery bark peels off in layers but looks like tissue paper.

Remember our clues.

The silvery bark. It can be tall or short.

And the lines go round the tree.

-Now see if you can spot one.

-BOTH:

-Bye!

A silver birch tree. That looks like a good Spot, Skipper.

Shall we look out for them in our walks?

# There's a worm at the bottom of my garden

# And his name is Wiggly-Woo

# There's a worm at the bottom of my garden

# And all that he can do

# He wiggles all night And wiggles all day

# He's wiggling his life away

-ALL:

-# There's a worm at the bottom of my garden

# And his name is Wiggly-Woo. #

That was nice but now you'd better hold on tight to the wormery

because we're coming in to land!

And whenever we land...it's...

ALL: ..time for a song!

"MADNESS-STYLE" MUSIC

# I had a funny dream just the other night

# That me and all my friends were minibeast size

# Like shepherds in a field on a big bug farm

# And a butterfly's antenna is as long as your arm

# What a world you can see

# Underneath your feet!

# The garden is a jungle full of wonderful beasts

# And marching past a twig that's a big as a tree

# Is a family of woodlice like nature's shrunk

# A herd of noisy elephants without their trunks

# I can't believe my eyes

# The spider's twice my size

ALL: # Minibeast madness

SNAIL GROWLS

# Minibeast madness

# The garden is a crazy world with giant ants!

# Far too big to crawl up inside your pants

# So should we just turn and run away?

# It looks like all they want to do is jump and play

# Was that a centipede

# Run by at breakneck speed?

ALL: # Minibeast madness

# Minibeast madness... #

SAXOPHONE SOLO

# ..Walking in the cracks of this brand-new world

# Listening to the wings of a ladybird

# In a world where everything seems so big

# We're riding on the back of an earwig

# I wish that you could come

# And join in the fun

ALL: # Minibeast madness Minibeast madness

# Minibeast madness

# Minibeast madness... #

Hiya!

# ..Minibeast madness... #

Hi, the Green Balloon Club!

-Thanks for flying with us.

-Maybe you could make a wormery.

-Or put up a bird box.

-Or spot a silver birch.

-See you next week. ALL:

-Bye!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd.